1. Field of the Invention
This invention involves regenerative pulsation in the operation of an optical cavity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advent of the laser and of solid-state light-emitting diodes has rekindled interest in transmitting information via electromagnetic waves in the optical region of the spectrum. Significant efforts have been expended in developing the optical fiber into an appropriate low-loss transmisson medium. More recent efforts have included the design and development of integrated optical circuitry which would permit direct processing of the optical signal without transformation into an electrical signal. Recent work has suggested such a direct technique for amplifying optical signals through the use of a cavity-enclosed nonlinear medium. The properties of the cavity are combined with the dispersive and/or absorptive properties of the medium to yield an input-output curve which displays gain. Such work is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. applications Ser. No. 711,421 and Ser. No. 735,989 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,699.
A specific embodiment of such a cavity-enclosed nonlinear medium is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 732,755. In that embodiment, an electro-optic crystal, whose index of refraction is a function of applied voltage, is used as the medium in the optical cavity. The response of the refractive index of the medium is effectively made nonlinear by varying the voltage applied to the medium as a function of the power transmitted through the medium. In this manner the index of refraction is made dependent on the power applied to the medium. The medium thereby displays nonlinear transmission properties.